#Mark Kimbrell

[euro-journal-english-news]

Craig Kimbrel agrees to deal with Phillies

Craig Kimbrel agrees to deal with Phillies

PHILADELPHIA — Dave Dombrowski said this week that he felt no need to respond to the Mets’ reported $315 million deal with Carlos Correa. It did not mean, however, he wasn’t looking for further upgrades to the Phillies’ roster. A source told EuroJournal’s Mark Feinsand on Friday night that the Phillies and right-hander Craig Kimbrel agreed to a one-year, $10 million contract, pending a…

[goalhofer]

2020 MLB National League All-Stars

Pitchers

#29 Alex Reyes (St. Louis Cardinals/Elizabeth, New Jersey)

#31 Max Scherzer (Washington Nationals/Chesterfield, Missouri)

#39 Corbin Burnes (Milwaukee Brewers/Bakersfield, California)

#41 Mark Melancon (San Diego Padres/Golden, Colorado)

#45 Zach Wheeler (Philadelphia Phillies/Dallas, Georgia)

#46 Craig Kimbrel (Chicago Cubs/Huntsville, Alabama)

#48 Germán Márquez (Colorado Rockies/Ciudad Guayana, Venezuela)

#51 Freddy Peralta (Milwaukee Brewers/Moca, Dominican Republic)

#64 Walker Buehler (Los Angeles Dodgers/Lexington, Kentucky)

#71 Josh Hader (Milwaukee Brewers/Anne Arundel County, Maryland)

#95 Trevor Rogers (Miami Marlins/Carlsbad, New Mexico)

#99 Taijuan Walker (New York Mets/Yucaipa, California)

Catchers

#10 J.T. Realmuto (Philadelphia Phillies/Midwest City, Oklahoma)

#22 Omar Narváez (Milwaukee Brewers/Maracay, Venezuela)

Infielders

#1 Ozie Albies (Atlanta Braves/Willemstad, Curacao)

#2 Justin Turner (Los Angeles Dodgers/Lakewood, California)

#4 Eduardo Escobar (Arizona Diamondbacks/Villa De Cura, Venezuela)

#5 Freddie Freeman (Atlanta Braves/Fountain Valley, California)

#7 Trea Turner (Washington Nationals/Lake Worth Beach, Florida)

#8 Manny Machado (San Diego Padres/Miami, Florida)

#9 Jake Cronenworth (San Diego Padres/St. Clair, Michigan)

#13 Max Muncy (Los Angeles Dodgers/Keller, Texas)

#17 Kris Bryant (Chicago Cubs/Las Vegas, Nevada)

#23 Fernando Tatís; Jr. (San Diego Padres/San Pedro De Macorís, DR)

#26 Adam Frazier (Pittsburgh Pirates/Watkinsville, Georgia)

#28 Nolan Arenado (St. Louis Cardinals/Lake Forest, California)

#35 Brandon Crawford (San Francisco Giants/Menlo Park, California)

Outfielders

#3 Chris Taylor; Jr. (Los Angeles Dodgers/Virginia Beach, Virginia)

#6 Nicholas Castellanos (Cincinnati Reds/Plantation, Florida)

#11 Bryan Reynolds (Pittsburgh Pirates/Brentwood, Tennessee)

#21 Juan Soto (Washington Nationals/Santo Domingo, DOM REP)

#33 Jesse Winker (Cincinnati Reds/Orlando, Florida)

Manager

Dave Roberts (Los Angeles Dodgers/San Diego, California)

[twins2994]

San Diego Padres-Los Angeles Dodgers Preview

10.11.22- Mike Clevinger RHP (7-7) 4.33 ERA Vs. Julio Urias LHP (17-7) 2.16 ERA

10.12.22-Yu Darvish RHP (16-8) 3.10 ERA Vs. Clayton Kershaw LHP (12-3) 2.28 ERA

10.14.22-Blake Snell LHP (8-10) 3.38 ERA Vs. Tyler Anderson LHP (15-5) 2.57 ERA

10.15.22- 

10.16.22-

The Padres At A Glance-  The Padres edged the Mets in the only Wild-Card series that went three games over the weekend. All three games were semi-blowouts. The Padres took the first game 7-1 then evened the series in a 7-3 win. San Diego shutout New York 6-0 to advance and play the rival Dodgers in the Division Series. Trent Grisham hit 4-for-8 with two homers and three RBI in the Wild-Card series. Austin Nola hit 4-for-9 with two runs knocked in. The Padres hit five home runs in the three games. The pitching staff allowed ten runs in the three-game series. Yu Darvish and Joe Musgrove each gave the team seven solid innings to save the bullpen. Blake Snell wasn’t as sharp on Saturday and it’s undetermine if he’ll get a start in the series based of his lack of success against the Dodgers this year. Josh Hader closed out the regular season by allowing just one earned run over his past 11 1/3 innings pitched. The Padres bullpen was middle of road in the regular season and might seal their fate in this round. The bullpen didn’t need to pitch in high leverage situations over the weekend, but this series will be fairly close. 

The Dodgers At A Glance- The Dodgers had a great season with a franchise record 111 wins. They essentially won the National League West by Labor Day and got to rest some guys unlike last year. 2021 was such a long race with the Giants only to lose the division title and knock off the Giants in the first round. They were on fumes in the Championship Series and lost to the Braves. The Dodgers lineup is almost perfect. Mookie Betts starts it off and he had thirty-five homers and eight-two RBI on the year. He bowled a perfect game while the Dodgers had a little break. Trea Turner brings speed and knocked in a hundred runs in the regular season. Freddie Freeman finished second in the batting race with a .325 average and hit twenty-one homers. Will Smith had twenty-four homers behind the plate. Cody Bellinger occasionally ran into a long ball and played solid defense all year long. Trayce Thompson emerged as a fourth outfielder and played against lefties a lot. Tyler Anderson and Tony Gonsolin really carried the rotation throughout the year. Clayton Kershaw and Andrew Heaney were good when healthy. Julio Urias continues to quietly put up good numbers. The biggest question mark is the closing position. Craig Kimbrel struggled and was removed from the closer role late in the year. Blake Treinen should make the NLDS roster, but he hasn’t pitching since September 5th. Brusdar Graterol, Tommy Kahnle, Evan Phillips, Alex Vesia, and David Price should get high leverage roles, but nobody has a ton of closing exprience outside of Kimbrel. 

What To Watch For- The Dodgers went (14-5) against the Padres in 2022. Los Angeles out-scored San Diego 109-47 in the regular season. Mike Clevinger has a 9.69 ERA in three career starts against the Dodgers. Julio Urias is (6-1) with a 2.19 ERA in fifteen games versus the Padres. Manny Machado has four career homers off Urias. Yu Darvish is (3-5) with a 2.47 ERA in ten starts against the Dodgers. Freddie Freeman has two homers off Darvish. Clayton Kershaw is (23-9) with a 2.03 ERA in forty-five starts against San Diego. Manny Machado has three homers off his former teammate. Blake Snell has a 2.50 ERA in nine starts against the Dodgers. Joey Gallo and Chris Taylor have two homers off Snell. Tyler Anderson is (6-3) with a 2.36 ERA in fifteen games against the Padres. The series will likely come down to which bullpen can perform better in close games. There might be a blowout or two, but the Padres didn’t have to play close games in the Wild-Card series. The Padres can get their revenge after the Dodgers beat up on them all season long. 

-Chris Kreibich-

[ramtracking]

Dodgers Trade AJ Pollock To White Sox For Craig Kimbrel

Dodgers Trade AJ Pollock To White Sox For Craig Kimbrel

11:32am: The two groups have introduced the trade. 11:11am: The Dodgers and White Sox are in settlement on a trade sending outfielder AJ Pollock to Chicago in exchange for reliever Craig Kimbrel, reports Mark Feinsand of MLB.com (Twitter connection). It is a relatively gorgeous blockbuster involving two large-profile and very paid veterans. Pollock is earning $10MM this year and is owed at the…

[news247planet]

#Craig #MLB #Phillies #Baseball Phillies' Craig Kimbrel Turns into eighth Participant Ever to Attain 400 Profession Saves https://news247planet.com/?p=270464

[mrfog1010]

What you need to know about Ramadan 2022, the Muslim fasting month practiced throughout the globe.

What you need to know about Ramadan 2022, the Muslim fasting month practiced throughout the globe. April Fools 1259K #WorldCupDraw 83K Argentina 288K Wales 37K #TopNotchFridays Ghana 105K Kimbrel Pollock MSNBC 66K Spain

What you need to know about Ramadan 2022, the Muslim fasting month practiced throughout the globe. Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic holy calendar, begins on April 1st, and is commemorated by Muslims all over the globe as a month of prayer, fasting, and fellowship. The crescent moon, a symbol utilized in Ramadan decorations, marks the beginning and conclusion of the holy month. So, what are…

[goalhofer]

Last MLB Player To Wear Each Jersey Number: Chicago Cubs

1: Terrance Gore (2018)

2: Tommy La Stella (2015-18)

3: Daniel Descalso (2019-present)

4: Mark Zagunis (2019-present)

5: Albert Almora (2016-present)

6: Nicholas Castellanos (2019-present)

7: Victor Caratini (2017-present)

8: Ian Happ (2017-present)

9: Javy Baez (2014-present)

10: Quenton Lowery (1997-98)(retired for Ron Santo 2003)

11: Yu Darvish (2018-present)

12: Kyle Schwarber (2015-present)

13: David Bote (2018-present)

14: Ernie Banks (1953-71)(retired for Banks 1982)

15: Brandon Morrow (2018-present)

16: Robel Garcia (2019-present)

17: Kris Bryant (2015-present)

18: Ben Zobrist (2016-present)

19: Koji Uehara (2017)

20: Brandon Kintzler (2018-present)

21: Tony Kemp (2019-present)

22: Jason Heyward (2016-present)

23: Ryne Sandberg (1996-97)(retired for Sandberg 2005)

24: Craig Kimbrel (2019-present)

25: Derrek Lee (2004-10)

26: Fritzie Connally (1983)(retired for Billy Williams 1987)

27: Addison Russell (2016-present)

28: Kyle Hendricks (2014-present)

29: Brad Brach (2019-present)

30: Alec Mills (2019-present)

31: Ted Lilly III (2007)(retired for Ferguson Jenkins & Greg Maddux 2009)

32: Tyler Chatwood (2019-present)

33: Timothy Butler (2017-18)

34: Jon Lester (2015-present)

35: Col Hamels (2018-present)

36: Dillon Maples (2017-present)

37: Tim Collins (2019)

38: Martin Maldonado (2019)

39: Tseng Jen-Ho (2017)

40: Willson Contreras (2016-present)

41: Steve Cishek (2018-present)

42: Dave Smith (1991-92)(retired league wide for Jackie Robinson 1997)

43: Tony Barnette (2019-present)

44: Anthony Rizzo (2012-present)

45: Xavier Cedeno (2019-present)

46: Pedro Strop (2013-present)

47: Randy Rosario (2018-present)

48: Pierce Johnson (2017)

49: Jake Arrieta (2013-17)

50: Rowan Wick (2019-present)

51: Duane Underwood; Jr. (2018-present)

52: Tseng Jen-Ho (2018)

53: Taylor Davis (2017-present)

54: Justin Hancock (2018)

55: Koyie Hill (2007-12)

56: Kyle Ryan (2019-present)

57: James Norwood (2018-present)

58: Jose Ascaino (2008-09)

59: Kendall Graveman (2019-present)

60: Cory Mazzoni (2018)

61: Carl Webster (2018-present)

62: Jose Quintana (2017-present)

63: Brian Schlitter (2014-15)

64: Jaime Garcia (2018)

65: Never issued

66: Kawasaki Munenori (2016)

67: Wada Tsuyoshi (2014-15)

68: Jorge Soler (2014-16)

69: Never issued

70: Never issued

71: Oscar De La Cruz (2019-present)

72: Robert Machado (2001-02)

73: Adbert Alzolay (2019-present)

74: Never issued

75: Never issued

76: Daniel Garibay (2000)

77: Never issued

78: Never issued

79: Never issued

80: Never issued

81: Never issued

82: Never issued

83: Never issued

84: Never issued

85: Never issued

86: Never issued

87: Never issued

88: Never issued

89: Never issued

90: Justin Steele (2018-present)

91: Never issued

92: Never issued

93: Never issued

94: Felix Heredia (1998-2001)

95: Never issued

96: Never issued

97: Never issued

98: Never issued

99: Taguchi So (2009)

[dalerwalker2]

What you need to know about Ramadan 2022, the Muslim fasting month practiced throughout the globe.

What you need to know about Ramadan 2022, the Muslim fasting month practiced throughout the globe. April Fools 1259K #WorldCupDraw 83K Argentina 288K Wales 37K #TopNotchFridays Ghana 105K Kimbrel Pollock MSNBC 66K Spain

What you need to know about Ramadan 2022, the Muslim fasting month practiced throughout the globe. Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic holy calendar, begins on April 1st, and is commemorated by Muslims all over the globe as a month of prayer, fasting, and fellowship. The crescent moon, a symbol utilized in Ramadan decorations, marks the beginning and conclusion of the holy month. So, what are…

[goalhofer]

2022 Los Angeles Dodgers Roster

Pitchers

#7 Julio Urías (Culiacán Rosales, Mexico)

#21 Walker Buehler (Lexington, Kentucky)

#22 Clayton Kershaw (University Park, Texas)

#23 Danny Duffy (Santa Barbara County, California)

#26 Tony Gonsolin (Vacaville, California)

#28 Andrew Heaney (Warr Acres, Oklahoma)

#31 Tyler Anderson (Las Vegas, Nevada)

#33 David Price (Murfreesboro, Tennessee)

#40 Jimmy Nelson (Klamath Falls, Oregon)

#41 Daniel Hudson (Virginia Beach, Virginia)

#44 Tommy Kahnle (Colonie, New York)

#46 Craig Kimbrel (Huntsville, Alabama)

#48 Brusdar Graterol (Villa De Todos Los Santos De Calabozo, Venezuela)

#49 Blake Treinen (Osage City, Kansas)

#51 Alex Vesia (San Diego County, California)

#52 Phil Bickford (Westlake Village, California)

#59 Evan Phillips (Clayton, North Carolina)

#63 Justin Bruihl (Petaluma, California)

#64 Caleb Ferguson (Madison County, Ohio)

#66 Mitch White (San José, California)

#81 Victor González (Tuxpan, Mexico)

#85 Dustin May (Justin, Texas)

Catchers

#15 Austin Barnes (Riverside, California)

#16 Will Smith (Louisville, Kentucky)

Infielders

#5 Freddie Freeman (Fountain Valley, California)

#6 Trea Turner (Lake Worth Beach, Florida)

#9 Gavin Lux (Kenosha, Wisconsin)

#10 Justin Turner (Lakewood, California)

#13 Max Muncy (Keller, Texas)

#17 Hanser Alberto (San Francisco De Macorís, Dominican Republic)

#43 Edwin Ríos (Kissimmee, Florida)

Outfielders

#3 Chris Taylor; Jr. (Virginia Beach, Virginia)

#35 Cody Bellinger (Chandler, Arizona)

#50 Markus Betts (Nashville, Tennessee)

Coaches

Manager Dave Roberts (Vista, California)

Bench coach Bob Geren (San Diego, California)

Pitching coach Mark Prior (San Diego, California)

Assistant pitching coach Connor McGuinness (Alexandria, Virginia)

Bullpen coach Josh Bard (Elizabeth, Colorado)

Bullpen catcher Steve Cilladi (Mesa, Arizona)

Hitting coach Brant Brown (Porterville, California)

Assistant hitting coach Aaron Bates (New York, New York)

Assistant hitting coach Robert Van Scoyoc (Santa Clarita, California)

1st base coach Clayton McCullough (Greenville, North Carolina)

3rd base coach Dino Ebel (Barstow, California)

Game planning coach Danny Lehmann (Denver, Colorado)

[bethel-dh]

Sentiment Analysis: Chicago Cubs

This sentiment analysis graph is about the Chicago Cubs’ #Cubs. Their last game was won on October 3rd. Previously, they traded a lot of their team favorites- Javier Baez, Anthony Rizzo, Kyle Schwarber, Kris Bryant, Craig Kimbrel, etc. A lot of the players hit home runs on their new teams in their first postseason games. People are relatively upset with this, saying that we should have extended their contracts (Oct. 8th). The graph goes up around October 10th and 11th because it marks the five year anniversary of the Cub’s greatest season. They were winning and getting closer and closer to the World Series with lots of homer runs and close games.

[truth-tv]

New on SI: How Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Can Still Win AL MVP in the Year of Ohtani

The Blue Jays star is treating the race with Shohei Ohtani as he does fastballs over the plate: he’s conceding nothing.

View the original article to see embedded media.

Welcome to The Opener, where every weekday morning you’ll get a fresh, topical column to start your day from one of SI.com’s MLB writers.

What Shohei Ohtani is doing is so unique and elite that maybe he cannot be caught as the American League MVP. He leads the league in homers and slugging while striking out 11.7 batters per nine innings over 13 starts. But Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is treating that race as he does fastballs over the plate: he is conceding nothing.

Guerrero has his own trump card to play: the Triple Crown. Guerrero trails Ohtani by just three homers while leading the league in batting average and RBI. He is on pace to hit 55 homers and bat .332. Only three players ever have reached those thresholds, none in the past 89 years: Jimmie Foxx, Hack Wilson and Babe Ruth (twice). And all of them when they did so were older than Guerrero, who is 22.

What makes Guerrero such a devastating hitter is not just a flat, powerful swing that turns around any velocity at any height. (He is hitting .399 and slugging .757 against fastballs.) It is also that Guerrero is supremely disciplined at the plate. Much has been made of his weight loss as the key to his breakout season. The bigger impact has been made by his improved selection of what pitches to attack. Guerrero has dropped his chase rate from 28.9% in 2019 to 21.9% this year. He has more hits on pitches in the strike zone than any hitter in baseball.

Add up his hitting profile—massive power, elite contact, superb pitch selection and the way he almost never gets off balance at the plate by being fooled—and Guerrero is reminiscent of Manny Ramírez. And to complete the comparison, look at the close resemblance to the start of their careers:

First 273 Career Games

There is one more element that could swing some voters toward Guerrero: a playoff spot. Toronto has a 67% chance of playing in the postseason. Their rotation is better than you think, with pitching coach Pete Walker turning Robbie Ray into a strike-thrower and rookie Alek Manoah making an impact. Ray, Manoah, Hyun Jin Ryu and Steven Matz are 27-14. The bullpen, which has run through 26 relievers, could use a power arm such as Craig Kimbrel.

The Jays play seven of their next 10 games against Boston, then come home to Toronto to play their first games at Rogers Centre in almost two years—an almost guaranteed emotional boost for the club in the second half.

Guerrero, who has played in every game, could have more meaningful September moments than Ohtani—the kind of moments that can leave an impression with MVP voters. And the Blue Jays finish with 14 of their last 23 games against Baltimore and Minnesota, two of the three worst pitching staffs in the AL.

Ohtani remains the clear favorite to win the MVP. But Guerrero is on his own historical path to possibly create a debate with echoes of 1941 (Joe DiMaggio over Ted Williams) and 2012 (Miguel Cabrera over Mike Trout).

New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole has made the adjustment in baseball’s crackdown period on sticky substances. The spin rates are down on his fastball (-184 rpms) and slider (-180 rpms), but so are the batting averages against those pitches. How has he done it?

After struggling with poor fastball command—and getting pounded in a start at Boston on May 31—Cole made a key change in his next outing. He moved from the center of the rubber to the far first-base side. His ERA this month is 2.45—down from 4.65 in June—and he has cut his percentage of pitches in the middle of the plate from 28% to 23%.

In 2019, when he “learned” how to spin fastballs with Houston, Cole threw 340 fastballs at 2,600 rpms or more. In June and July, with the crackdown in place, he has thrown just three such pitches. His high-spin heater disappeared virtually overnight. But Cole is proving that he is still an elite pitcher without ridiculously high spin rates.

Monday marks one month since the enforcement phase of the sticky-substances crackdown began. Overall batting average and slugging are up while RPMs dropped by an average of 72.

Biggest Change in Overall Spin Rate

Least Change in Overall Spin Rate

More MLB Coverage: • Second-Half Mysteries: Inside MLB's Thrilling Stretch Run • Five ‘Angel and Devil’ Trade Deadline Conversations • In the Year of Ohtani, MLB’s Stars Are Celebrating the Greatest of Them All • Three Big Questions Ahead of the MLB Trade Deadline

July 19, 2021 at 05:59PM Tom Verducci https://ift.tt/2UrKNhl

[news247planet]

#Craig #MLB #Phillies #Baseball Phillies' Craig Kimbrel Turns into eighth Participant Ever to Attain 400 Profession Saves https://news247planet.com/?p=255815

[your-dietician]

Starting Nine: Revel in a generational moment in Atlanta sports

New Post has been published on https://tattlepress.com/sports/starting-nine-revel-in-a-generational-moment-in-atlanta-sports/

Starting Nine: Revel in a generational moment in Atlanta sports

Give Freddie Freeman this: the man knows how to celebrate a spot in the All-Star Game.

Back in 2013, the night of the announcement of his first election, when he beat out the Dodgers’ Yasiel Puig in the Final Vote — in the days when “Will Hug for Votes” T-shirts were all the rage — he followed it up with a three-hit, four-RBI night in a Braves’ win.

Thursday, a mere hour and a half after he was announced as the National League starter at first base for the third straight time, Freeman did it again, beating out an infield hit to deliver a 4-3 walk-off win over the Mets. That victory moved the Braves within two games of .500 with six against the Marlins and three vs. the Pirates remaining until the break.

There’s a heavy All-Star flavor as we dive into this week’s Starting Nine, but first, a nod to something special that’s happening in Atlanta, both on the diamond and the hardwood.

1. Revel in a generational moment in Atlanta sports

Travel back 36 years into Atlanta past, when the Braves’ Dale Murphy was the All-Star game’s leading vote-getter and Hawks’ Dominique Wilkins was prepping for a season in which he’d lead the NBA in scoring (30.3 points per game) in an All-Star season of his own that would end with a trip to the Eastern Conference finals.

It was a time capsule moment in the city’s sports history — and it’s happening again.

In Ronald Acuña Jr. — who lead all National League players in voting in this year’s All-Star balloting (2,510,041), en route to a Phase 2 win that gave him his second straight Midsummer Classic start — and Trae Young — whose ascension to the NBA’s upper crust has put the Hawks one step away from the NBA Finals, and Atlanta is basking in the glow of two captivating young stars.

While All-Star votes aren’t the definitive measuring stick of how beloved a player is — and we’ve seen a fanbase or two stuff the ballot box (ahem, Royals) a time or two — the Braves have had the top vote-getter just four other times with Hank Aaron in 1970 and ‘71, Murphy in ‘85 and Freddie Freeman in 2018. As beloved as Chipper Jones was, he never led the league in voting, and with the pitchers’ selections not up for fan vote, you can’t put the same ruler up to the popularity of the Big Three of Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux and John Smoltz.

By the time Chipper reached the majors, the Hawks had long shipped Wilkins out of town and in Jones’ entire run with the Braves, the Hawks never had a player rank in the top 20 in Player Efficiency Rating. Now, when Chipper was averaging 4.9 fWAR from 2002-05, he and the rest of Atlanta were operating in the shadow of Michael Vick amid his three Pro Bowl seasons with the Falcons, which included the then-22-year-old quarterback silencing Lambeau Field in ‘02. It may be the closest thing post-Murphy/Wilkins, and you can throw Freeman and the Falcons’ Matt Ryan/Atlanta United’s Josef Martinez in the mix, but when were any of their stars on the same level from the national perspective at the exact same time?

The idiosyncrasy of this summer is that we’re seeing the NBA’s shortened and delayed season stretch the playoffs into July, creating this opportunity for Young’s rise from fantastic watch to superstar level coinciding with Acuña leaving no doubt he’s in the conversation for best player in the game.

The embarrassment-of-riches factor of it all, is that this may be just the beginning. Young, after all, is just 22, less than a year Acuña’s junior. When Wilkins was dueling Michael Jordan in the dunk contest, Murphy was fading into a below-league average hitter. We may not have seen the heights of either of today’s stars.

Regardless, revel in the moment, Atlanta. Revel in the love fans in and outside the city are heaping on Acuña, and where Young’s rise has lifted the Hawks. Here, it only seems to come once every couple of generations.

2. Albies may have lost All-Star starter vote, but he’s still winning

The Braves will have two starters in Coors Field for the All-Star Game with Acuña and Freddie Freeman, but Ozzie Albies will have to wait until Sunday’s reserve announcement to see if he joins them. He was beaten out by the Pirates’ Adam Frazier, who claimed the start with 47 percent of the vote, but this was anything but an upset. While Albies has 43 extra-base hits to Frazier’s 32, and a slightly higher fWAR (2.6 to 2.5), Frazier has the better wRC+ (141 to 129) and among NL second basemen with at least 330 plate appearances he’s first in average (.327), on-base percentage (.395) and second in slugging (.471). But let’s not turn this into a debate over who should be starting at second for the NL. Albies is likely to still get a trip to Denver and is still basking in the afterglow of driving in seven with two homers as part of a five-hit performance in Wednesday’s 20-2 rout of the Mets. Albies became just the second Braves player with five hits, two homers and seven RBI, joining Joe Adcock in 1954 and is on pace for 89 extra-base hits in all, with 31 home runs and 48 doubles. Just six second baseman have had 30 or more homers and at least 40 doubles in a season, the last coming in 2012 with Robinson Cano, and it’s been done eight times in the last 20 years. He’s often lost in the shadow of Acuña (you did just make it through 500-plus words on his friend’s level of stardom) and Freeman, and last year’s injury-hampered 0.6 fWAR season may have skewed the perception outside of Atlanta but let this scorching first half of 129 wRC+ be a reminder of how bright his star is shining, All-Star starter or not. Since he broke into the league in 2017, Albies has been doing the extra-base hit thing better than any second baseman with 218. Only 75 players have had more extra-base hits in their first 500 games, and the only Braves with more are Eddie Mathews (236), Hank Aaron (233) and Wally Berger (231).

3. Freeman and the All-Star company he now keeps

Freddie Freeman is headed to the All-Star game as a starter for the third straight season, claiming 48 percent of the vote to beat out the Dodgers’ Max Muncy. He now finds himself in some extremely elite company in franchise history. He’ll become just the fifth Brave to start in at least three straight, following Wally Berger (1933-35), Hank Aaron (1957-60 and 1965-74), Eddie Mathews (1959-61) and Dale Murphy (1982-86). We’ve come a long way since eight years ago and that aforementioned Final Vote win, when Freeman set a record with 19.7 million votes (4.1 million votes ahead of the previous mark). That Freeman is the starter despite Muncy’s 3.2 fWAR being double that of Freeman speaks to either the power of the Atlanta fan base or the first baseman’s MVP resume, depending on your vantage point. But Freeman has carved out a place in Braves history at what is routinely one of the deepest positions in both leagues.

4. Austin Riley: The All-Star Case

His breakout season has been All-Star worthy, as he ranks third at the position in the NL with 126 wRC+, but is it enough to beat out the two guys ahead of him for the roster spot? The Cardinals’ Nolan Arenado, the league-leader at the position in fWAR (2.3) gets the start, while the Dodgers’ Justin Turner (140) and Cubs’ Kris Bryant (131) are 1-2 in wRC+. That accounts for the three players that made it to Phase 2 of the voting. Then there’s the Padres’ Manny Machado, who is nearly a full win over Riley’s 1.2 fWAR and tops the position with 4.7 defensive runs above average. Hitting a two-run home run off the Mets’ Jacob deGrom — just the fourth the MVP/Cy Young candidate has yielded this season — was a nice touch, but Riley’s best bet was hoping that Braves fans could force his way in via the ballot box. That didn’t happen, and he’s likely on the outside looking in.

5. Luke Jackson: The All-Star Case

We got into this a bit last week, but it’s worth digging back ahead of Sunday’s reveal. The biggest problem facing Luke Jackson aren’t his numbers — his 1.88 ERA is in the top 13 and he’s stranding a higher percentage of runners (98.7 percent) of any NL reliever — it’s the competition and the roster rules. Among the 12 pitcher spots, the starters have their no-brainers with likely game starter Jacob deGrom (Mets), Yu Darvish (Padres), Kevin Gausmanm (Giants), Dodgers’ Walker Buehler and Clayton Kershaw, Max Scherzer (Nationals), Zack Wheeler (Phillies) and Brandon Woodruff (Brewers) and you can expect to see Mark Melancon (Padres), Craig Kimbrel (Cubs) and Josh Hader (Brewers) among the relievers. If just one spot is up for debate, the Cardinals’ Alex Reyes (0.96 ERA and 20 saves) has a better resume, as does the Mets’ Edwin Diaz (11.65 K/9 and 10 saves) and Kenley Jansen (Dodgers) a bigger name, even if he is walking 5.51 per nine. Frazier getting the start at second could mean Richard Rodriguez (1.78 ERA and 10 saves) is no longer an option to take the Pirates’ guaranteed roster spot, but it’s tough to find a path for Jackson. There’s no longer shot among Braves, though Jackson’s turnaround after a 6.84 ERA 2020 has been one of the few bright spots on one of the NL’s worst bullpens.

6. Michael Harris II’s star just keeps rising

The Futures Game roster is absolutely loaded. The Orioles’ Adley Rutschman, Tigers’ Spencer Torkelson, Mariners’ Jarred Kelenic, Royals’ Bobby Witt Jr. and the Yankees’ 18-year-old Jasson Dominguez are among the headlines of the 50 players selected to appear July 11 at Coors Field, and the Braves will be well represented too. Drew Waters, the franchise’s second-ranked prospect, is a no-brainer to earn a selection as the latest tools-laden outfielder the Braves have put on direct path to a spot in Atlanta, but Michael Harris II’s rise in making this roster has been simply astounding. The third-round pick in 2019 opened this season as Atlanta’s 10th-ranked prospect per MLB Pipeline has been blistering A-ball pitching with a .320/.341/.477 slash line, five home runs and 12 doubles with 11 stolen bases and a 123 wRC+ in 43 games. The season-opening prospect rankings are laughable, and with Harris getting this kind of nod, it wouldn’t be at all surprising to see his name rise way up when the prospect lists are updated in the coming weeks (in 2019, MLB Pipeline did its complete re-rank in July), likely making the top 100 and pushing Shea Langeliers for a top-three spot along with Waters and Cristian Pache. Harris has been generating tons of buzz since raking in spring training, and it doesn’t show any chance of slowing down with the Futures Game spotlight.

7. Happy anniversary to the Greatest Game Ever Pitched

This is not, I repeat not, a “get off my lawn” moment. It’s just that dialing it back a notable pitching duel that went down on this date in baseball history is a reminder of something we may never see again as Braves great Warren Spahn and the Giants’ Juan Marichal both threw 15 scoreless innings in 1963 before Willie Mayes hit a homer off Spahn in the 16th inning to give San Francisco a 1-0 victory. It’s pretty ridiculous and was the subject of a book by Jim Kaplan. No one has tossed 15 innings in a game since former Brave Gaylord Perry in 1974 when he was with the Indians. The last 14-inning start came via the A’s Steve McCatty in 1980 and the last time anyone threw 11 innings was another Oakland arm, Dave Stewart, in 1990. Even 10 innings in a game hasn’t been accomplished since Cliff Lee in 2012.

8. You get an HBP, and you get an HBP

Batters are being hit at an historic pace this season, with 1,034 as of this writing making MLB on pace for a record 2,088 in 2021. There was a record 1,984 in 2019, which broke the mark set in 2018 of 1,922, but let’s dial it back to a game that seems so 2020 by comparison. On this day in 1969, the Reds’ Gerry Arrigo hit three Braves in the second inning, and Cincinnati relievers would plunk two more, setting a modern-day record of five hit batters in a game, a mark that would stand until June 9, 2018 when the Astros hit six Rangers. In keeping with our All-Star theme, making up three of those hit by pitches in that 1969 game against the Reds, were the team’s All-Stars for that season, as Felix Millan had two HBPs and Aaron one.

9. ‘It has good wood’

Happy birthday to Tim Spehr, who had one of the most memorable debuts in Braves history, and that was about it. On July 14, 1997, just two days after he was called up from Triple-A, Spehr went 1-for-1 … with a grand slam in a 10-6 win over the Phillies. Spehr, who after the game admitted “I’m not a home run hitter. I was looking to drive the ball and got it up in the air a little,” was out of his comfort zone as bats hadn’t arrived from Richmond, so the catcher used one from the clubhouse. The result was his connecting on the home run off Philadelphia starter Tyler Green, for what was Spehr’s ninth HR in six MLB seasons. “It has good wood,” he said after the game. “I hope I don’t break it.” He’d last just eight games with the Braves, hitting .214 in 14 plate appearances.

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